JP2015525515A - Transport stream multiplexer and method for providing packets on a transport stream - Google Patents

Abstract

The described example includes a transport stream multiplexer that may not require searching for an appropriate source to use to generate a transport stream packet. Instead, the source used may be indicated by a location (eg, input) in a memory table, eg, a metadata array. A method for initializing a metadata array by placing transport stream packets on the transport stream is also described.

Description

This application claims priority to US Non-Provisional Application No. 13 / 485,398 filed May 31, 2012, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety for all purposes. Which is incorporated herein by reference.

  Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a transport stream of compressed signals, such as audio and / or video signals.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a media system. Media system 100 may receive media from various sources such as source # 1, source # 2, and source # 3 shown in FIG. The source can be any type of information (eg, audio, video, or data) and can be digital or analog. The source can be a program (eg, a television or video program such as, but not limited to, a movie, news broadcast, sports, or other event program) or part of a program. In some examples, the source may include a combination of audio, video, and / or data information. Examples of data information include, for example, subtitles or other digital information.

  Information from the source may be encoded by a suitable encoder, for example, encoders 105-107 shown in FIG. Encoders 105-107 may encode the source information in any known manner, for example, to compress the information. The encoders 105 to 107 are not limited to these, but are MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, and the like. H.264, H.C. Any suitable encoding method for information including HEVC, or combinations thereof, or other encoding criteria may be implemented. The encoded data can then be provided to the transport multiplexer 110.

  The transport multiplexer 110 receives encoded data from a plurality of sources and interleaves them into a transport stream 115. The transport multiplexer 110 generally provides the received data as packets on the transport stream 115. Each transport stream packet is conventionally 188 bytes with a 4-byte header identifying the packet followed by control data, optional timing information, and a section of compressed data from one of the sources. obtain. The bit rate of the transport stream 115 is generally constant. For example, the number of transport streams transmitted per second can be fixed. Stuffing packets can therefore be inserted by the transport multiplexer 110 when insufficient data is available to fill the target bit rate.

  Thus, the transport multiplexer 110 may continuously provide encoded data packets from the selected source to the transport stream 115. The transport stream 115 may be provided to any number of destinations that can decompress and decode the transport stream 115 and / or rebroadcast the transport stream 115. Examples of destinations include satellite 120, terrestrial antenna 121, and network 122. A playback device (eg, a set top box) may also receive and decode the transport stream 115 for playback purposes in some examples.

  An exemplary method is disclosed herein, including a method for providing packets on a transport stream. An example method is to read the metadata array at the location indicated by the index pointer, where the source indicator and release time stamp are stored at the location in the metadata array and indicated by the index pointer. Generating a transport stream packet from the source indicated by the source indicator stored at the indicated location and assigning a release time stamp to the transport stream based on the release time stamp stored at the location indicated by the index pointer And providing a transport stream packet on the transport stream using a transport stream multiplexer at a time corresponding to the open time stamp.

  An example method is to calculate the next metadata array location for the source indicated by the source indicator stored at the location indicated by the index pointer, and if the next metadata array location is in the metadata array. Storing the corresponding source indicator in the next metadata array location and storing the corresponding source indicator in the ready list if the next metadata array location is not currently in the metadata array. obtain.

  In some examples, calculating the next metadata array location may be based on the leak rate of the source indicated by the source indicator.

  In some examples, calculating the next metadata array position may be based on the system clock frequency used by the transport stream multiplexer.

  The example method may further include updating the metadata array at the location indicated by the index pointer by storing the updated release time stamp.

  In some examples, the updated release time stamp may be based on the size of the metadata array.

  The example method may further include updating the metadata array at the location indicated by the index pointer by storing the updated source indicator.

  In some examples, the updated source indicator may correspond to the source of the stuffing packet.

  An exemplary method may include a method of populating a metadata array of transport stream multiplexers. An exemplary method is to initialize a metadata array, wherein the metadata array includes an open time stamp and a source indicator at each of the plurality of metadata array locations; And identifying one of the plurality of metadata array locations, at least in part, based on a time that the first source requires a packet to be placed on the transport stream. Assigning to the source and updating one of the plurality of metadata array locations to have a source indicator corresponding to the first source.

  In some examples, the initialization may include writing a source indicator that indicates the source of the bit stuffing packet to all locations in the metadata array.

  In some examples, the initialization may include writing open time stamps to all locations in the metadata array, where successive locations are the system clock frequency used by the transport stream multiplexer and the transport stream. Open time stamps that differ by an amount based at least in part on the bit rate of the.

  In some examples, assigning one of the plurality of metadata locations may calculate a metadata location that is closest to the time that the first source needs a packet to be placed on the transport stream. May be included.

  In some examples, assigning may include assigning the calculated metadata location if the source indicator stored at the calculated metadata location indicates the source of the current bit stuffing packet.

  In some examples, assigning assigns the next metadata location after the computed metadata location if the source indicator stored in the computed metadata location indicates something other than the source of the current bit stuffing packet Can include.

  An exemplary transport stream multiplexer is described herein. An exemplary transport stream multiplexer is a metadata array having a processor, a memory for storing instructions for multiplexing the transport stream, and a continuous array corresponding to consecutive packets of the transport stream. Each of the locations to include a metadata array including a stored release time stamp and a source indicator, wherein the processor reads the location of the metadata array according to instructions for multiplexing the transport stream; Generate a transport stream packet from the source specified by the source indicator at the read location of the metadata array, and on the transport stream at a time that matches the release time stamp at the read location of the metadata array To Tran Configured to provide a transport stream packet.

  In some examples, the transport stream multiplexer may be in communication with multiple sources, but the source specified by the source indicator at the read location is the selected one of the multiple sources. is there.

  An example transport stream multiplexer may further include a ready list, but the ready list is configured to store open time stamps and source indicators for packets that do not have a corresponding position in the current metadata array. The

In some examples, the processor provides packets on the transport stream corresponding to each successive location in the metadata and stored in the ready list in accordance with instructions for multiplexing the transport stream. It may be further operable to update the metadata with the data.

  In some examples, the metadata array may comprise a first in first out (FIFO) memory.

  In some examples, the transport stream multiplexer may be further configured to receive the clock signal, but the time that matches the open time stamp at the read location of the metadata array is at least partially based on.

1 is a schematic diagram of a media system. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transport multiplexer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a schematic diagram of a metadata array according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a schematic diagram of a method for populating a metadata array according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram of a method for providing transport stream packets. 1 is a schematic diagram of a media delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram of a video distribution system that may utilize the encoders described herein.

  Certain details are set forth below to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known circuits, control signals, timing protocols, and software operations have not been shown in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the described embodiments of the invention. .

  Embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for providing packets in a transport stream. As described above, the transport multiplexer may provide packets in the transport stream, but these packets are received from multiple sources. However, each source may have specific timing requirements. If a packet of encoded data from a source is sent out too late, the destination may have insufficient time to process this encoded data. If a packet of encoded data from the source is sent out too early, there may be insufficient space at the destination to buffer the data until the correct time is reached.

  Transport multiplexers that can be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof generally require more CPU time as the number of inputs to the transport multiplexer increases. This is because a conventional transport multiplexer can identify and evaluate all sources that provided data that can be provided on the transport stream. A conventional multiplexer, after evaluating all sources, may select the source with the earliest deadline and provide packets from that source on the transport stream. Thus, as the number of sources (eg, inputs) increases, the amount of CPU cycles required to evaluate all source deadlines also increases. Thus, conventional transport multiplexers may require parallel processing, for example, and using FPGAs or a significant number of CPU cycles. These solutions can be expensive and can disadvantageously increase the power demand of the system.

  Embodiments of the present invention include transport multiplexers, methods, and systems that provide packets on a transport stream. Embodiments of the present invention may reduce the CPU cycles and / or complexity required to determine which source to use for each packet in the transport stream. Although some advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention are described herein, the advantages are provided for illustrative purposes only, and enjoy all or even some of the benefits for which all embodiments are described. It should be understood that this is possible.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a transport multiplexer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Transport multiplexer 200 may receive data (eg, encoded data) from a variety of sources, with sources 201-203 shown in FIG. As described above, the sources 201-203 can be encoded video, encoded audio, data, or the like, but each source can be from a program or a portion thereof. In some examples, multiple sources may originate from the same program or a portion thereof (eg, audio, video, and data associated with one program). A source of stuffing packets may also be provided to the transport stream multiplexer. In general, a stuffing packet may include data that may be independent of any content intended to be transmitted on the transport stream. Instead, stuffing packets can be inserted on the transport stream to maintain a constant bit rate. The nature and type of sources that can provide data to the transport multiplexer 200 is diverse and flexible, and can generally use any source capable of providing data to be transmitted over the transport stream. Should be understood. In addition, any number of sources can be used. Any number of sources can be used, but in one example up to 16 programs, in another example up to 42 programs, in another example over 1000 sources. An example of implementing a transport stream for an Ethernet system such as 1 Gbit Ethernet may have a greater number of sources, in some examples over 1000 sources.

  The transport multiplexer 200 includes a CPU 205, a metadata array 210, an executable list 211, and an instruction 215 for transport multiplexing. Any suitable processor or processors may be used to implement the CPU 205. The metadata array 210 may be implemented as any suitable form of memory readable by the CPU 205, for example, volatile, which may be the executable list 211, or non-volatile memory, which may be the executable list 211. The instructions 215 for transport multiplexing can be computer readable instructions stored on any suitable memory readable by the CPU 205, such as volatile or non-volatile memory. The instructions 215 for transport multiplexing, the metadata array 210, and / or the executable list 211 can be stored in the same memory or can be stored on different memories. In some examples, any combination or all of the metadata array 210, the ready list 211, and the instructions 215 for transport multiplexing may be distributed across multiple memories. It should be understood that the processing and memory component arrangement used to implement the transport multiplexer example described herein is quite flexible. In general, sufficient hardware, software, or a combination thereof may be provided to implement the described transport multiplexer functionality.

  The transport multiplexer 200 can operate according to a clock signal 220 that can be provided to the CPU 205. Transport multiplexer 200 may operate to place packets of data from the selected source on transport stream 225. In general, the CPU 205 may operate according to the transport multiplexing instruction 215 to read the metadata array 210 and select the source specified by the metadata array 210. Data from the selected source may be placed on the transport stream 225. Ready list 211 may include packet data waiting to be placed in metadata array 210. In this way, the CPU 205 may only need to refer to the metadata array 210 to determine which source should be used to assemble packets of data that are placed on the transport stream 225. . The CPU 205 may therefore not need to evaluate each source and the relative timing requirements of each source in order to place a packet on the transport stream 225.

  After the transport multiplexer 200 identifies the source to use for the next transport stream packet based on the information stored in the metadata array 210, the CPU 205 follows this instruction 215 for transport multiplexing. The next packet position for the selected source may be determined. The next packet location for the selected source may be determined based on the timing requirements of the selected source, in some examples, in combination with other factors. CPU 205 may store metadata identifying the selected source in the location of metadata array 210 associated with the next packet location for the selected source in accordance with instruction 215 for transport multiplexing. Accordingly, the metadata array 210 can be updated to reflect the selected source for future packets. In this way, the CPU 205 may not need to search all sources to determine the selected source to be used in providing the next transport stream packet. The CPU 205 may instead select a source based on information stored in the metadata array 210, and may identify metadata identifying the selected source for the next transport packet location for the selected source. The metadata array 210 may be updated by storing in a location corresponding to.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a metadata array according to an embodiment of the present invention. The metadata array 300 can be used, for example, to implement the metadata array 210 of FIG. The metadata array 300 includes N inputs. Each input may include an open time stamp (RTS) and a source indicator (SRC). Each input may match a packet on the transport stream. The release time stamp may match the time at which the packet associated with the input is to be placed on the transport stream. The source indicator may indicate which source should be used to obtain data for the packet. The metadata array 300 can be operated as a first-in first-out (FIFO) memory, where the first input placed in the metadata array 300 can be the first input to be read. The index pointer 305 may point to the current position in the metadata array 300 corresponding to the current packet. Index pointer 305 may be incremented after each input is read from metadata array 300. The metadata array can be implemented using any memory device.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a method for populating a metadata array according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 400 can be used, for example, to populate the metadata array 300 of FIG. The transport multiplexing instructions 215 of FIG. 2 may include instructions for implementing the initialization method described with reference to FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, at block 405, the metadata array may be initialized. The CPU 205 in FIG. 2 can initialize the metadata array 210 in accordance with, for example, a transport multiplexing instruction 215. Initialization may occur when the transport multiplexer is turned on or started in some instances, otherwise it may be provided with the array already initialized. In some examples, the initialization may include allocating sufficient space in memory for the metadata array. The amount of space may generally be large enough to maintain an open time stamp and source indicator for all N packets.

  During initialization, an open time stamp value can be stored at each of the metadata array locations. The open time stamp value may be calculated based on a system clock used by a transport multiplexer, such as clock signal 220 of FIG. The number of transport stream packets on the transport stream per second (NUM_TS_PKT) may be given as the transport stream bit rate divided by the size of the transport packet. In one example, NUM_TS_PKT may be given as TS_BR / (188 * 8), where TS_BR is the transport stream bit rate and each transport stream is 188 bytes * 8 bits / byte. Thus, the increment between open time stamps (eg, ΔRTS) may be given as the frequency of the clock signal divided by the number of transport stream packets on the transport stream per second (NUM_TS_PKT). In one example, the clock signal may have a frequency of 27 MHz, but ΔRTS may therefore be given as 27000000 / NUM_TS_PKT. Thus, during initialization, a start release time stamp can be written into input 0 of the metadata array. The starting release time stamp may be the current time or any other time that packet 0 is placed on the transport stream. The remaining open time stamp can be written to the remaining input by incrementing the starting open time stamp by ΔRTS.

  During initialization, a source indicator may also be stored in each of the metadata array locations. A predetermined combination of source indicators may be initially written at each location. In one example, the source indicator for each location is initialized to the stuffing packet source. In some examples, CPU 205 may perform the above calculations to write an initial open time stamp and source indicator according to instructions 215 for transport multiplexing. Following initialization, the metadata array 300 of FIG. 3 may include a release time stamp for each of the N packets and associate a source indicator that can all be initialized to the stuffing packet.

  Referring back to FIG. 4, at block 410, a new source may be identified. This source can be identified when data from the source begins to reach the transport multiplexer or, in some examples, a predetermined list of sources can be known to the transport multiplexer and the transport multiplexer This is because a predetermined list of sources can be evaluated. At block 415, a location in the metadata array may be assigned to a new source. For example, the transport multiplexer may evaluate the time that the source needs to provide a packet on the transport stream. The current time can be subtracted from this required delivery time. The difference can be divided by ΔRTS to identify which input in the metadata array should match the next packet from the source. For example, the input of the metadata array to be associated with the new source = (time required for sending packet−current time) / ΔRTS. The source indicator corresponding to this new source can then be placed in the metadata array input thus calculated. If this metadata array input exceeds N, it still cannot fit in the metadata array, and the open time stamp and source indicator can be stored in the ready list 211 instead of the metadata array 210.

  Block 410 of FIG. 4 may be repeated for any number of sources in communication with the transport multiplexer. From time to time, the above calculations may encounter inconsistencies that may suggest that the source indicator should be placed in a metadata array location that is already occupied by another non-stuffing packet source indicator. In such a conflict, the transport multiplexer may read the next metadata array location, but if the next metadata array location contains the source indicator of the stuffing packet, the conflicting source indicator will be Can be written to a data array location. Blocks 410 and 415 may be implemented by CPU 205, for example, according to instructions 215 for transport multiplexing.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a method for providing transport stream packets. Method Although the blocks of FIG. 5 are shown in a linear order, it should be understood that the order of implementation of the described elements of method 500 is flexible and some elements may overlap in its execution. is there. The method 500 may be implemented by the CPU 205 of FIG. 2 operating in accordance with instructions 215 for transport stream multiplexing, which in some examples may include instructions for performing the method 500. In block 505, the metadata may be read at the location indicated by the metadata array index pointer. For example, referring to the metadata array 300 of FIG. 3, the position '1' may be read by the CPU 205 of FIG. 2 operating according to the transport stream multiplexing instruction 215, for example, A source indicator can be read.

  In block 510, the packet may be provided by a transport stream multiplexer based on the data read from the metadata array. For example, the transport stream multiplexer may generate a transport stream packet from the source indicated by the read position (eg, the source specified by position '1' in the example of FIG. 3), but the read The RTS at the designated location may be assigned to this generated transport stream packet. Thus, the transport stream may provide the generated transport stream packet on the transport stream when the clock signal matches the RTS of the transport stream packet.

  At block 515, the next metadata array location may be calculated for the current source (eg, the source used to generate the packet at block 510). This next metadata array location may be calculated, for example, based on the current source leak rate. Each source may have a specified leakage rate that matches the rate at which successive packets from the source are to be placed on the transport stream. The transport multiplexer may therefore calculate the next metadata array location based on the system clock, bit rate, transport packet size, and leak rate. The source indicator for the current source can then be stored in its calculated location. Note, however, that the metadata array is finite, eg, N inputs in length. Thus, if the next metadata array position is calculated to be greater than N, the transport multiplexer may store the source indicator for the current source in a ready list, eg, ready list 211 in FIG. The target RTS for the next packet from the current source may also be stored in the ready list.

  At block 520, the transport multiplexer may update the current metadata array location with the updated RTS and source indicator. The updated RTS may be equal to the current RTS plus N * ΔRTS, because the index pointer may return to the same position in the metadata array every N * ΔRTS. The source indicator can be updated to indicate the stuffing packet source because no source can be assigned to the position for the updated RTS value.

  At block 525, the transport multiplexer may increment an index pointer, such as index pointer 305 of FIG. In the example of FIG. 3, the index pointer may be incremented to position “2”. When the index pointer is at position 'N', incrementing the index pointer can result in the index pointer pointing to position '0'. Thus, the index pointer may “wrap” the metadata array. Also, when the index pointer is at position 'N', in general, each input of the metadata array has been read, and the corresponding transport stream packet may have been generated by the transport stream multiplexer. After reading each of the metadata array locations according to the process described above with reference to block 520, their source indicators may have been updated to stuffing packet source indicators. Therefore, the metadata array may have been reinitialized.

  When the index pointer is incremented from position 'N' to position '0', the transport stream multiplexer may evaluate a ready list such as ready list 211 of FIG. Recall that the ready list may include source indicators and target RTS values for metadata array locations that were greater than N. In some examples, the ready list may be organized by source. For each input in the ready list, the transport multiplexer may calculate the metadata array position for this input using the method described above. For example, the metadata array position may be calculated by subtracting the current time from the RTS stored in the ready list and dividing the remainder by ΔRTS. If the metadata array location exceeds N, the transport stream multiplexer may leave the source and RTS in the ready list. If the metadata array position is less than or equal to N, the source indicator at the calculated metadata array position is indicated by the ready list unless the metadata array position already stores a non-stuffing packet source indicator. May be updated to reflect the appropriate source. If the metadata array location stores a non-stuffing packet source indicator, the transport stream multiplexer will display the source indicator and RTS as the next metadata array location or, in some examples, as the non-stuffing packet source indicator. It may be stored in any subsequent metadata array location that is not stored. Once the source indicator and RTS are stored in the appropriate location in the metadata array, the transport stream multiplexer may remove them from the ready list.

  While the above example has been described in which the transport stream multiplexer can increment the index pointer through all N inputs of the metadata array before evaluating the ready list, in some examples the ready list Can be evaluated more frequently to update the metadata array more frequently with the source indicator.

  The example of the present invention may thus provide a transport stream multiplexer that may not need to search for a suitable source to use to generate a transport stream packet. Instead, the source to be used is indicated by an entry in a memory table, eg a metadata array. Since the sum of all source bit rates is less than the transport stream bit rate and the source indicator can advance according to the leak rate of the source, inconsistencies are so frequent when updating the metadata array in our example. It is not expected to occur. Moreover, the present example minimizes or reduces the number of CPU cycles required to operate the transport stream multiplexer, relatively independent of the number of sources provided to the transport stream multiplexer. Can be. That is because each source does not need to be evaluated each time the next packet is generated in some examples.

  The performance of the transport stream multiplexer in accordance with some examples of the present invention may improve as the size N of the metadata array increases, because the probability that the source will target the ready list may decrease. However, this advantage may diminish beyond a certain size, which, in some cases, can generally only keep one input per source in the metadata array at any time. Because. The size N of the array can thus be selected such that in some examples N * ΔRTS exceeds the clock frequency divided by the lowest frame or repetition rate of the source.

  In some examples, the availability of stuffing packets can facilitate performance benefits, because the bit rate of the transport stream can exceed the total bit rate of all contributing sources. . In general, some example performance may degrade when the total bit rate exceeds the transport stream bit rate.

  The example transport stream multiplexers and methods described herein can also be implemented using cascaded multiplexers. A portion of the transport stream may be first multiplexed before being provided to the transport stream multiplexer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Any premixed stream may be provided as input to a downstream multiplexer implemented in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Non-stuffing packets may be remultiplexed using the RTS provided by the upstream multiplexer or based on the capture time of the downstream multiplexer.

  In an analog fashion, examples of the present invention may include adjusting a transport stream multiplexer that may be removed to keep one or more high bit rate sources (eg, programs) transcoded. For example, a transport stream containing non-transcoded packets is provided as input to a transport stream multiplexed according to an embodiment of the invention in a manner similar to providing a premixed stream in the cascaded multiplexer example. obtain.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Media delivery system 600 may provide a mechanism for delivering media source 602 to one or more of various media outputs 604. Although only one media source 602 and media output 604 is shown in FIG. 6, any number can be used, and with the example of the present invention, media content can be directed to any number of media outputs. It should be understood that it can be broadcast and / or otherwise delivered.

  The media source data 602 can be any source of media content including, but not limited to, video, audio, data, or a combination thereof. The media source data 602 can be audio and / or video data that can be captured using, for example, a camera, microphone, and / or other capture device, or that can be generated or provided by a processing device. Media source data 602 may be analog or digital. If the media source data 602 is analog data, the media source data 602 may be converted to digital data using, for example, an analog to digital converter (ADC). In general, some type of compression and / or encryption may be desirable for transmitting media source data 602. Therefore, although not limited to these, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, and so on. H.264, H.C. Code that can encode media source data 602 using any encoding method currently known in the art or in the future, including encoding methods involving video standards such as HEVC, or combinations thereof, or other encoding standards A device 610 may be provided.

  Encoded data 612 may be provided to a communication link such as satellite 614, antenna 616, and / or network 618. Encoded data 612 may be provided to the communication link using a transport stream prepared in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the transport stream multiplexer 200 of FIG. 2 and / or the methods of FIGS. 4 and 5 may be used to provide encoded data 612 for a communication link. The network 618 may be wired or wireless, but may further communicate using electrical and / or optical communications. The antenna 616 may be a terrestrial antenna, but may also receive and transmit conventional AM and FM signals, satellite signals, or other signals known in the art, for example. The communication link may broadcast the encoded data 612, but in some examples, changes the encoded data 612 (eg, by re-encoding, adding, or subtracting the encoded data 612). Thus, the changed encoded data 612 can be broadcast. The encoded data 620 provided from the communication link may be received by a receiver 622 that may include or be coupled to a decoder. The decoder may decode the encoded data 620 and provide the media output 604 shown in FIG. 6 to one or more media output units.

  Receiver 622 can be included in or in communication with any number of devices including, but not limited to, modems, routers, servers, set-top boxes, laptops, desktops, computers, tablets, mobile phones, and the like. possible.

  The media delivery system 600 and / or encoder 610 of FIG. 6 may be utilized in various segments of the content distribution industry. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a video distribution system 700 that may utilize the encoders described herein. Video distribution system 700 includes a video contributor 705. Video contributor 705 may include, but is not limited to, digital satellite news collection system 706, event broadcast 707, and remote studio 708. Each or any of these video contributors 705 utilizes an encoder described herein, such as encoder 610 in FIG. 6, to encode the media source data and provide the encoded data to the communication link. obtain. In addition, each or any of these video contributors 705 use the transport stream multiplexer and / or method embodiments described herein, such as the transport stream multiplexer 200 of FIG. 2 and the methods of FIGS. 4 and 5. A transport stream may be provided. For example, the digital satellite news collection system 706 may provide encoded data to the satellite 702 using an exemplary transport stream multiplexer as described herein. Event broadcast 707 may provide encoded data to antenna 701 using an exemplary transport stream multiplexer, as described herein. Remote studio 708 may provide the encoded data on network 703 using an exemplary transport stream multiplexer, as described herein. Other communication links may be used in other examples of these systems in other examples.

  The generated segment 710 may include a content transmission device 712. The content transmission device 712 may receive encoded data from any video contributor 705 or a combination thereof. The content transmission device 712 can use the received content, and can edit, synthesize, and / or manipulate any of the received content to use the content. Content origination device 712 may utilize the encoder described herein, such as encoder 610 of FIG. 6, to provide the encoded data to satellite 714 (or another communication link). Content originator 712 may include a transport stream multiplexer as described herein to provide encoded data to satellite 714 (or other communication link). The content originator 712 may additionally or alternatively provide encoded data to the digital terrestrial television system 716 over a network or other communication link, and may be an exemplary transport stream as described herein. Multiplexers can be used. In some examples, the content transmission device 712 may decrypt the content received from the contributor 705 using a decoder such as the decoder described with reference to FIG. Content originator 712 may then re-encode the data and provide the encoded data to satellite 714, which may also utilize the example transport stream multiplexer described herein. In another example, the content transmission device 712 may change the encoding format of the received data using a code conversion device without decoding the received data.

  Primary distribution system 720 may include a digital broadcast system 721, a digital terrestrial television system 716, and / or a cable system 723. Digital broadcast system 721 may include a receiver, such as receiver 622 described with reference to FIG. 6, for receiving encoded data from satellite 714. The digital terrestrial television system 716 may include a receiver such as the receiver 622 described with reference to FIG. 6 in order to receive encoded data from the content transmission device 712. Cable system 723 may host its own content that may or may not have been received from generation segment 710 and / or contributor segment 705. For example, the cable system 723 may provide its own media source data 602 as that described with reference to FIG.

  Digital broadcast system 721 may include an encoder, such as encoder 610 described with reference to FIG. 6, to provide encoded data to satellite 725. Digital broadcast system 721 may include examples of transport stream multiplexers described herein, such as transport stream multiplexer 200 of FIG. Cable system 723 may include an encoder, such as encoder 610 described with reference to FIG. 6, to provide encoded data to local radio relay station 732 over a network or other communication link. Cable system 723 may include one or more examples of the transport stream multiplexers described herein. Secondary distribution segment 730 may include, for example, satellite 725 and / or cable local radio relay station 732.

  Cable local radio relay station 732 provides an encoder, such as encoder 610 described with reference to FIG. 6, to provide encoded data to customers in customer segment 640 over a network or other communication link. May be included. Cable local radio relay station 732 may include examples of transport stream multiplexers described herein. Satellite 725 may broadcast a signal to customers in customer segment 740. Customer segment 740 decrypts the content and ultimately makes the content available to the user, such as a receiver such as receiver 622 and the associated decryption described with reference to FIG. Any number of devices may be included that may include a vessel. Customer segment 740 may include devices such as set-top boxes, tablets, computers, servers, laptops, desktops, mobile phones and the like.

  Thus, encoding, transcoding, transport stream multiplexing, and / or decoding can be utilized at any of a number of points in the video distribution system. Embodiments of the present invention may be utilized in any or all of these segments.

  While specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, it will be appreciated that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (20)

A method for providing packets on a transport stream, comprising:
Reading the metadata array at the location indicated by the index pointer where the source indicator and release time stamp are stored;
Generating a transport stream packet from the source indicated by the source indicator stored at the location indicated by the index pointer;
Assigning a release time stamp to the transport stream packet based on the release time stamp stored at the position indicated by the index pointer;
Providing the transport stream packet on the transport stream when corresponding to the release time stamp using a transport stream multiplexer;
Including a method. Calculating a next metadata array location for the source indicated by the source indicator stored at the location indicated by the index pointer;
Storing the corresponding source indicator in the next metadata array location if the next metadata array location is in the metadata array;
Storing the corresponding source indicator in a ready list if the next metadata array location is not currently in the metadata array;
The method of claim 1, further comprising:   The method of claim 2, wherein the calculation of a next metadata array location is based on a leak rate of the source indicated by the source indicator.   The method of claim 2, wherein the calculation of a next metadata array location is based on a system clock frequency used by a transport stream multiplexer.   The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the metadata array at the location indicated by the index pointer by storing an updated release time stamp.   The method of claim 5, wherein the updated release time stamp is based on a size of the metadata array.   The method of claim 5, further comprising updating the metadata array at the location indicated by the index pointer by storing an updated source indicator.   The method of claim 7, wherein the updated source indicator corresponds to a source of stuffing packets. A method of populating a metadata array of a transport stream multiplexer,
Initializing the metadata array including an open time stamp and a source indicator at each of a plurality of metadata array locations;
Identifying a first source;
Assigning one of the plurality of metadata array locations to the first source based at least in part on a time required by the first source for a packet to be placed on a transport stream; ,
Updating one of the plurality of metadata array locations to have a source indicator corresponding to the first source;
Including a method.   The method of claim 9, wherein the initializing includes writing a source indicator that indicates a source of bit stuffing packets to all locations in the metadata array.   The step of initializing includes writing an open time stamp to all locations in the metadata array, where successive locations are a system clock frequency used by the transport stream multiplexer and bits of the transport stream. 10. The method of claim 9, comprising open time stamps that differ by an amount based at least in part on the rate.   The method of claim 9, wherein the assigning comprises calculating a metadata location closest to the time that the first source requires a packet to be placed on a transport stream.   13. The assigning of claim 12, wherein the assigning includes assigning the computed metadata location if a source indicator stored at the computed metadata location indicates a source of a current bit stuffing packet. Method.   Allocating includes allocating a next metadata position after the calculated metadata position if a source indicator stored at the calculated metadata position indicates a source other than the current bit stuffing packet source. The method according to claim 12. A transport stream multiplexer,
A processor;
A memory for storing instructions for multiplexing the transport stream;
A metadata array having successive locations corresponding to successive packets of the transport stream, each successive location comprising a stored release time stamp and a source indicator;
With
The processor reads the location of the metadata array according to the instructions for multiplexing the transport stream and transports the transport stream from the source specified by the source indicator at the read location of the metadata array A transport stream multiplexer configured to generate a packet and provide the transport stream packet on the transport stream at a time that matches the release time stamp at the read location of the metadata .   The transport stream multiplexer is in communication with a plurality of sources, and the source specified by the source indicator at the read location is a selected one of the plurality of sources. Item 16. The transport stream multiplexer according to Item 15.   The transformer of claim 15, further comprising a ready list, wherein the ready list is configured to store an open time stamp and a source indicator for packets that do not have a corresponding position in the current metadata array. Port stream multiplexer.   Data stored in the ready list by the processor providing packets on the transport stream corresponding to each successive position in the metadata according to the instructions for multiplexing the transport stream The transport stream multiplexer of claim 17, wherein the transport stream multiplexer is further operable to update the metadata array using.   The transport stream multiplexer of claim 15, wherein the metadata array comprises a first in first out (FIFO) memory. The transport stream multiplexer is further configured to receive a clock signal, and a time coinciding with the open time stamp at the read location of the metadata array is based at least in part on the clock signal; The transport stream multiplexer according to claim 15.